HBO’s ‘Euphoria’ Season 2 Premiere Non-Spoiler Review – “Trying To Get To Heaven Before They Close The Door”

In Euphoria, if you can’t kill them with kindness, then let kindness try to kill them.

Euphoria‘s Season 2 premiere is titled, “Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door”. It is written and directed by the series creator, Sam Levinson.

In this review, I will be discussing Euphoria Season 2 Episode 1. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Although, I will discuss major themes present in the episode. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible revelations.

Plot Summary

Following some time after Euphoria Season 1 and its two holiday specials — including “Trouble Don’t Last Always”/ “Part I: Rue” –, a good portion of the Season 2 premiere episode centers on the show’s drug dealer character and his storyline, which continues from the Season 1 finale.

Meanwhile, another half of the episode follows its main cast of characters as they navigate their way around a crucial house party.

The Cast of the Euphoria Season 2 Premiere

Zendaya plays Rue Bennett, while Hunter Schafer appears as Jules Vaughn. Angus Cloud stars as Fezco, while Javon “Wanna” Walton portrays the character’s younger brother, Ashtray.

Maude Apatow stars as Lexi Howard, while Sydney Sweeney portrays her sister, Cassie Howard. Alexa Demie plays Maddy Perez, while Jacob Elordi plays the series antagonist, Nate Jacobs.

Barbie Ferreira, Algee Smith, and Austin Abrams appear as their respective characters, Kat Hernandez, Chris McKay, and Ethan Lewis. Dominic Fike appears as Elliot, a new main character.

Chloe Cherry plays Faye, while Meeko Gattuso appears as Mouse. Mason Shea Joyce and Daelo Jin Walton play younger versions of Fezco and Ashtray, respectively.

Melvin “Bone” Estes plays Bruce, while Phil Ursino plays Paulie. Cinda Adams plays Fezco’s math teacher, while Ash Khan plays Dr. Salah. Daeg N. Faerch plays Mitch, while Siyon Foster plays Virgil. Isabella Brenza plays a girl in the bathroom. Ansel Pierce appears as Caleb, while Oscar Pereida appears as a cashier.

Mike G plays the strip club bouncer, while Rogelio Camarillo plays the strip club bartender. Sydney Martin plays a bikini girl. Strippers include Aiden Ashley, Diana Grace, Kenzie Anne, Trenee Bowman, Shannon Caetano, Kiajah Powell, and Consuella Torres.

Guest stars include Tyler Chase as Custer, Martha Kelly as Laurie, Andy Mackenzie as Bowl-Cut, Richie Merritt as Bruce Jr., and Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr. as Travis.

Kathrine Narducci (The Sopranos) plays a younger version of Fezco’s grandmother.

The Crew

Marcell Rév serves as the episode’s director of photography. Series co-producer Julio C. Perez IV serves as the episode’s editor, with Aaron I. Butler on additional editing and Nikola Boyanov as the co-editor.

Jason Baldwin-Stewart serves as the production designer, with Heidi Bivens as the costume designer and Wylie Stateman as the sound designer. Eugene Adamov is the lead set designer, while Nealy Orillion is the set designer.

Julia Altschul is the set decorator, with Lila Yanow as the assistant set decorator and Casey Burr as the on-set dresser. Ana Lisa Quilty, Jason Drury, and Monique Mieema are the set dressers. Doniella Davy serves as the department head of make-up, with Tara Lang Shah as her department head of make-up assistant and Alex French as the assistant on make-up.

Kim Kimble is the department head of hair and Patricia Vecchio is the key hairstylist, while Hayley Farrington serves as the assistant of hair.

Angelina Vitto serves as the assistant costume designer, while Devon Patterson is the costume supervisor. Lola Elmo serves as the key set costumer, with Claire Redman as a costumer and Luis G. Reyes as a set costumer.

Labrinth curates the music of Euphoria. Jen Malone and Adam Leber serve as the music supervisors. Jason Tregoe Newman, Bryant J. Fuhrmann, and Zak Millman serve as the music editors.

Jessica Kelly, Mary Vernieu, and Bret Howe are the casting directors, while Jennifer Venditti is the NY casting director. James Mackay does the extras casting, while Skyler Zurn is the casting assistant.

Miguel Tapia serves as the location manager, with Jeff Morris as the location scout.

Discussion

This first episode of HBO’s Euphoria Season 2 is a remarkable start to a new stage in the characters’ lives.

“Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door” is a major upgrade from the stories told in the first season. Levinson’s teleplay writing consists of distortion of plot structure, a further breakdown of a scene into smaller scenes, and a barrage of music playing from his soundtrack. The episode plays with characters’ senses of morality constantly, allowing some to ponder on whether they are good people or not.

This can be best demonstrated in a lesson that Fezco’s grandmother teaches him: “There’s a short supply of kindness in this world. People sniff it out and they swoop right the fuck in”. Being moral may seem easy, but this all becomes challenging once risk and responsibility come into play.

Rév’s cinematography is outstanding, providing different ways of viewing the characters and their respective situations as well as the angles thereof from different parts of the party scene. Perez IV, Butler, and Boyanov’s editing facilitate the narrative structure of the episode. They help show us where we are at in terms of its plot leading up to the final minute of the story. The buildup is anxiety-inducing, as some viewers can anticipate something bad is about to happen.

As always, the musical composition is to die for. Levinson always seems to know what music to incorporate into his scripts, and in this second season premiere, it can be quite overwhelming to follow along to. (Although, that is only if you do not pay attention.)

Lastly, the appearances — costumes, hair, make-up, set, etc. — are everything. Need I say more?

Performances and Character Developments

A sizeable fraction of the episode is dedicated to Cloud’s character, Fezco, so we are finally able to take a peek into his background. It’s true what Rue says about him in the previous season. The drug dealer is an intelligent man, but that does not preclude him from environing troubles. Fezco is personally my favorite character in Euphoria, and it’s most likely because he’s the only one with a code.

We have Zendaya’s Rue, who is backgrounded alongside Schafer’s Jules, Smith’s McKay, and Ferreira’s Kat. As many fans know from the Season 1 finale, the character relapses as a result of Jules leaving her. This leaves her development rather static and doesn’t really take her anywhere. It’s a huge shame but sooner or later she had to pass the spotlight to someone else.

Demie is great as Maddy in juxtaposition to Sweeney’s Cassie. The way Sweeney performs in this episode is completely different from when I’ve seen her nearly five months ago in her other HBO series, The White Lotus. Cassie is a person who lacks a moral compass, and yet, she is aware of this. I think that, with time and the proper tools, there is the possibility of her changing. However, that could be difficult to do when no one else does.

Elordi continues to be a flat-out horrible person. I often liken him to a mix between King Joffrey and Ramsay Bolton. At least we have Apatow’s Lexi, who is just a good person as Fez, yet she still has to witness all the bad things happen.

Final Thoughts

The Euphoria Season 2 premiere makes a good promise of what we are to see over the next month-and-a-half. Everything that gives Season 1 its essence has pretty much multiplied. The stakes are higher now that we’ve seen more sins being committed.

Also, I can’t help but desire more of Narducci as Fezco’s grandmother on the show. If you’re a fan of The Sopranos, then you know that Charmaine Bucco will always have something juicy cooking up in the kitchen. It’s just that this time she’s making a something that’s much more dangerous than Italian food. If too much of a good thing is a bad thing, then her role in Euphoria shows that too much of the bad things will lead to good things.

Euphoria Season 2 is now available to watch on HBO!

Have you seen the new season of Euphoria? If so, what are your thoughts? Let us know! For more drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!